


Paparazzi

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- Werewolves are still a thing, Artist Stiles Stilinski, Biting, M/M, Mates, Mating Bites, Obsession, Photographer Stiles Stilinski, Stalker Stiles Stilinski, Stalking, True Mates, Warning: Kate Argent, Werewolf Bites, Werewolf Mates, sbbite, sterekbingo, sterekbingo2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 09:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14734751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: It wasn't stalking, ok? It wasn'tDerek Hale had become his muse, and what good artistdoesn'tspend as much time as they could studying, photographing, painting, and being inspired by their muse?...It was stalking, wasn't it?





	Paparazzi

**Author's Note:**

> So this admittedly doesn't fit the theme "The Bite" as much as I would have liked, I wish there had been _infinitely_ more biting, but I think I sorta make up for it with the amount of significant biting in my other Sterek Bingo fics? So it comes out in the wash :P

Being a free-lance photographer wasn't easy

In particular, making any money at being a free-lance photographer wasn't easy

It meant that every now and then Stiles had to do things that he really hated, he had to take jobs that he couldn't stand, and sometimes he even had to put his moral standing in a bit of a bind, but he wanted to live his life the way _he_ wanted to live it, he wanted to have his dream job, and that, sadly, meant that he sometimes would have to make sacrifices

Now was one of those times

It wasn't anything _too_ bad, and really, his morals weren't even on the line in this case, more... his gut

There was something off about this client he was taking on, he couldn't really put into words what it was though

It wasn't like she had any doubts that she would pay- in fact she had already paid half upfront- but more...

Something about the vibe she gave him.... it was so off, so ... wrong.... like something nefarious was lurking just beneath her skin

He didn't know how to put it into words, but he had a terrible feeling every single time he spoke to her, even if it was just through text

Still, he couldn't afford to get picky like this

She was paying alot for these photos and Stiles could really use the money, it wasn't lik he had room to pick and choose his clients if he wanted to keep photography as his actual career and not just a hobby

So here he was, his leg bouncing anxiously as he stared at the "arena" before him, his camera situated on his lap, waiting for his subject to appear

He didn't know why the hell the woman had so badly wanted pictures of some guy who played card tournaments, it absolutely boggled his mind, but it was actually a pretty cushy job, it wasn't like he had to crouch in bushes somewhere or be out in the freezing cold trying to get some photos of the snow, he was just... sitting in the audience at a convention center, watching people play cards

It was actually pretty nice compared to some of his other jobs, and he really should stop getting so hung up over what she wanted the guy's pictures for

Thoughts like _Maybe she's a stalker and isn't allowed near him but this is how she gets her fix_ and _Maybe he's actually some kind of celebrity and she's trying to get dirt on him_ and all other similarly concerning thoughts really needed to just stop right in their tracks and not advance any further

Do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not worry about useless things just because they give you kind of a bad feeling- especially when those useless things are paying your rent

His eyebrows raised slightly as he watched the man he was supposed to be photographing finally emerge from the other side of the room and take his place at the small tournament table in the center of the room

Stiles had a feeling he was in for a pretty boring evening so he stretched out his muscles, raised his camera, and got started

How exciting could this game get?

 

~+~

 

Somehow, Stiles had managed to be both right and wrong at the exact same time

On the one hand, he was right, card games were not and never would be a spectator's sport, no matter how interesting the game sounded or what the format was

But on the other hand... the evening in it's self was not actually boring at all

Stiles had become kind of ... consumed... by the subject of his photos

He was a beautifull man, with inky black hair, bushy eyebrows, a full, well-groomed beard, his skin tinted in a light tan and muscles rippling beneath his clothes with practically every movement, he had a straight jawline and his eyes....

His eyes were such a brilliant shade of green that after two hours of taking photos- plenty of wich were up close and zoomed in- Stiles still couldn't quite place the shade

They were green, but with flecks of brown and gold in there as well, maybe bordering on hazel, he wasn't entirely sure....

By the time the tournament had ended, Stiles.... kind of didn't want to stop taking the pictures

He wanted to know more about this guy, he wanted more photos, he wanted to see what he was like outside of a game, and that was exactly how he had ended up in the predicament he was currently in

He hadn't _meant_ to follow the guy home, he really, honestly hadn't, it was just...

Well, they were going in the same direction actually, or atleast it had started that way

Stiles hadn't had any reason to stick around the convention so when the subject of his photography had left he had left along with him

The other guy managed to get out on the road first since he had parked closer to the door- in a pretty nice Camaro, might Stiles add- and Stiles had followed because hey, they were going the same direction

They both lived in Beacon Hills apparently, and Stiles didn't have any other stops to make in the mean time so... what was the harm?

And then, not far into the drive, the guy- Stiles was just going to call him Green Eyes in his head from now on- had pulled off the road and ... weirdly.... started into the woods, or atleast _towards_ the woods, it was .. kinda odd...

And then, like it so very, very often did, curiosity got the best of him and Stiles found himself following Green Eyes instead of going home like he _should_ have done to send the client the pictures he had taken

It definitely took him by surprise to see Green Eyes pull up to the burnt out old house in the middle of the Beacon Hills preserve- or atleast, what _used_ to be burnt out, these days it seemed that it had actually gotten fixed up pretty well

It was in that moment, watching as Green Eyes parked the car and got out, that it occurred to Stiles- it clicked as to who he was...

 _Derek Hale_....

Before that particular level of shock even had time to sink in, unfortunately, it was joined by an entirely new wave of surprise

All of a sudden Derek started... _stripping_.... right there in the open!

Stiles' mouth fell open, his fingers twitching towards his camera as the shirt came off, but...

No, he couldn't do that

He couldn't do that to this poor guy, it wasn't right, it was an invasion of privacy in the absolute _worst_ way he could ever fathom, even if the guy WAS undressing right there in the open outdoors, he was on his own property and had no idea that Stiles was watching him and ... honestly, it wouldn't have been right under _any_ circumstances

And then the guy took off his shoes and socks and then he _went for his pants_ and Stiles immediately knew that he should really... REALLY leave... and just as he was starting to back out and away from the poor guy who's privacy he had definitely, DEFINITELY been invading, something.... _else_... happened

Namely: The guy turned into a wolf

And trust him, _trust him_ , Stiles did everything in his power to convince himself that he hadn't just seen what he had just seen

He tried his hardest to be logical here, to talk himself out of it, to suggest even that maybe he was hallucinating or something, but...

It was no use

The wolf was there, standing in the same place that Derek had once been standing, and before Stiles could even get a good look at him, he had run off into the woods, leaving the human sitting in his car, mouth agape, questioning everything he'd ever known about life

 

~+~

 

Stiles didn't know what to do with himself

And he tried to tell himself that that was _perfectly_ and entirely reasonable of him, considering that everything he believed about life had just been turned on it's head

So

Werewolves were real

That was a thing

And Stiles was.... beyond not knowing how to deal with it

He had been laying here in bed since last night staring at the ceiling, not knowing what the hell to do with the information he now had

It wasn't really a question of what to _do_ with it, it wasn't like he was going to turn the werewolf over to the police for ... existing... or anything like that, but rather... he didn't know how to process this

He didn't know how to live in a world where _werewolves are apparently a thing_ and it was an incredible possibility that if _werewolves_ were real then all sorts of other "mythical" things could be real too

Stiles could look out his window one night and see a vampire sitting in his tree or watch a faery fly by or something, for all he knew, and he wasn't sure what to do with that information...

There was only one thing he felt at all certain about at the moment- and that was Derek himself

He wanted to see Derek more

He wanted to take more pictures, not for his client, but for himself

He wanted to know more about him, he wanted to know more about werewolves, and Stiles had a feeling that he wasn't going to get anywhere by going "Oh hey, so I saw you turn into a wolf the other night, care to tell me about that?"

That meant he would just have to resort to his favorite "Weapon"- his camera

Whenever he was too afraid to approach someone or something directly, he hid behind his camera and relied on that to do the work for him

And yeah, he knew very well that it was childish and immature and he really shouldn't be able to willingly admit that but... his camera had never failed him

People had, but his camera hadn't

His dad always teased that the camera was like a security blanket for him, and wile Stiles always snorted and brushed that off.... he wasn't entirely wrong

If he couldn't find the words to talk to Derek or figure out the right way to go about approaching this werewolf subject, then his camera would do all of the work, just like it always did

 

~+~

 

As it so happened, Stiles ended up learning infinitely more about Derek Hale than he did about werewolves

Not for lack of trying, but it just seemed that werewolves had more normal lives than he quite expected

For example, he seemed to do all of his grocery shopping on Tuesdays

He carried out pizza rather than having it delivered

He ran- _alot_ , atleast two or three times a day, maybe even more

He had visitors once every couple of days but he seemed to leave for places like coffee shops and cafe's, even an apartment building here or there, a few times a week so Stiles assumed he was meeting freinds there

Not that he ever followed Derek in, ofcourse, Stiles wasn't _crazy_ , he wasn't a _stalker_ , he kept reminding himself of that

It was just... Derek had become his muse

It had been a long time since photography had become more than just his job and for the first time in probably months he actually had enough inspiration to start working on his art again

He had done a few sketches of Derek over the weeks, a couple of charcoal drawings, and only _one_ painting, so he wasn't obsessed, he was just... inspired

Like the last time he had marathoned Penny Dreadfull and couldn't stop drawing pictures of Eva Green as Vanessa Ives, it was the same thing right?

And as long as Stiles kept it to himself and didn't try to interact or get creepy- he still refused to take pictures of anything that might be considered personal or private- then he was just an inspired photographer, a fan of a prominent card player, like a paparazzi but ... less dangerous

... Right?

Right, he chose to believe that was correct

He kept this up for a month, having given his client the photos she requested only days after he initially found Derek at the tournament, and spent the majority of his time now either photographing, drawing, or painting Derek

He did have other jobs to do in the mean time ofcourse, but every now and then he would manage to do a sketch or a painting or something else that was _inspired_ by Derek but not actually him

Usually, it was wolves

Normally he would have sold those- because honestly, _any_ money was good money as far as freelance artists of any sort were concerned- but he just... couldn't bring himself to put up the listings

It was starting to get annoying, and more than that, it was starting to legitimately concern him how attached he had gotten to a person that he had never spoken a single word to...

By the time the full moon rolled around again, he decided it was time to do what he had started out wanting to do to begin with: Get a better idea of what the hell werewolves were like

It was obvious that Mr. Washes-His-Car-On-Thursdays was just some kind of... distraction or ... something

Stiles couldn't really explain it, he couldn't put into words why he was so ... _obsessed_ with this guy, what the attraction was, what the addiction was, and weather or not it ever was going to fade or fall away entirely... but he couldn't let it consume him

He was _not_ going to become a stalker, not... any worse than he already had anyway

So he made the commitment that come the next full moon, he would take some photos of the wolf mid-transformation and then follow him into the woods for a few last snapshots and then... then he would quit

He sort of _had_ to quit right?

He couldn't keep going like this, it was pushing the boundaries of what was considered private... or legal... or sane....

He had to stop somewhere and the full moon seemed like the perfect time for it

So, come the moon, Stiles parked his jeep a few yards away from the house, just like he always did, and waited, his camera snapping photo after photo of the werewolf as the man's body shifted into that of a wolf

He was disappointed to say that he couldn't actually get much of it on film

The transformation wasn't like The Howling or An American Werewolf In London- slow and painfull and extremely graphic, it was more like Blood & Chocolate, a soft glow surrounding the man as his form changed from that of a human to a wolf

It was a little disappointing that he couldn't capture it easily on film but... it was beautifull

At the end of the day, it was irreplicably and breath-takingly beautifull and Stiles knew that he was extremely privileged to be able to see it

He waited until the wolf had taken off for the woods before sliding his camera strap around his neck and grabbing the flashlight from the car dashboard, sliding out of his jeep and following after him

He wasn't sure what, if anything, he would manage to get on film, but if this was going to be his swan song to his favorite muse, he wanted to drink in every last second of it

He managed to make it about five or so minutes into the woods, looking desperately for any sign of the wolf, not at all thinking that he might have sensed Stiles coming- he wasn't sure how advanced werewolf senses were but he figured if he stayed quiet and calm he couldn't get away with following him, he had so far after all, and he had made plenty more noises in the past than he was making here and now- before the sound of a twig snapping caught his attention

Stiles spun around, camera aimed, hoping to get a photo of the wolf, but... there was nothing there....

"Quit following me,"

That was it

That was the moment when the photographer's heart just about burst and he could absolutely _feel_ a decade being shaved off of his life expectancy

He hurried to turn around, pale and panicked, and stared in utter shock at the man behind him

At.... _Derek_ behind him for that matter....

Somehow, not only had Derek shifted back into full human form, he had also gotten dressed .. somehow... somewhere... out in the woods....

_What?_

"Holy crap..."

"I know you've been following me for the last several weeks and I think it's time that you stop, don't you?" he said, no hint of amusement in his tone

"Um, look, I-"

"It's dangerous for you to be stalking me, especially out here,"

"Ok look dude, first of all, I am NOT stalking you, I'm just taking pictures of you-"

"Wile following me around and without my knowledge or permission,"

....

Ok yeah that sounded pretty bad, Stiles was ready to admit that

"Second of all," Stiles said, deciding not to bother trying to explain his first point- he was caught, there was no denying that now

"I'm going to stop after tonight, it's just.... I know what you are, I just wanted to see how... you know... how it all works? But I swear, your secret is safe with me, I won't tell anyone else, I won't show anyone the photos, I get it, werewolves are an endangered species, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you ok?"

"You were going to stop after tonight?" Derek asked blandly

"And third of all, if you've known I've been following you all this time, then why only confront me about it now?"

That actually seemed to catch Derek off guard, but it didn't seem to delay the trouble, as only seconds later, there was the sound of footsteps behind him... and the click of a safety being turned off of a gun

Derek looked as pale as a sheet, fright painted all over his face, and Stiles was afraid to turn around, not wanting to know who it was who had a gun pointed at him now, but... at the same time, desperately needing to

Swallowing tightly, he slowly turned to look over his shoulder, his face shifting into one of complete and total confusion at the sight in front of him

_"Kate?"_

His client? The one who had ordered pictures of Derek in the first place?

He _knew_ there was something off about her!!

"Hello Stiles," she said with a sickening smirk to her voice, head tilting as she shifted her attention to the werewolf in front of them

"Hello again Derek,"

 _Again_?

They had some sort of history together?

Panic had started to form in the pit of Stiles' belly, his skin breaking out into a cold sweat as he stared at the absolutely anxiety-filled look on Derek's face

"You leave him out of this," Derek snarled, his expression suddenly gaining an air of anger to it as well as he glared at the woman across from him

"Aww, that would be no fun though, and it would make this entire experience totally worth it,"

What experience? What the hell was she talking about?

"Oh Stiles, you poor thing, you must be so confused... why don't you show him your phone Derek? Show him ... before I blow his brains out,"

"I don't have my phone on me, I went for a run, remember?" he snipped

That actually seemed to throw Kate for a loop, if only a breif one, but it didn't seem to matter for too long

"Alright then, we'll just go back to your house, probably better that way anyhow,"

Derek grimaced, but apparently took her seriously, considering that he turned around and slowly started walking back towards his house

It only took one short push of the gun against the back of his head for Stiles to move along too, even less pleased than Derek- if that was even possible

"Why are you doing this?" Stiles asked a beat later, not able to understand

Was she some kind of creepy super fan of Derek's?

Was that why she wanted the pictures?

Was she a stalker? A jilted ex? What?

"I'm a hunter, Derek there is a werewolf, do the math,"

Oh... that was another explanation, he supposed

"Then why did you want pictures of him?" Stiles frowned with confusion, his nose wrinkling and his eyebrows pinching together

"It wasn't about the pictures, it was about _you_ ," Kate said with a laugh

.... What?

"That makes no sense," Stiles frowned deeply

"Oh it makes plenty of sense, see... I wanted you to get involved with Derek, to keep him distracted, so that I could find out where the rest of his pack is and do to them what I did to his family a handfull of years ago,"

That was Kate?

She was the one who had burned down the old Hale house?

Stiles felt sick to his stomach, his skin pale and upset- angry, sad, panicked, guilty- sensations beginning to sweep through his veins

He felt _horrible_ all of a sudden, for not listening to his gut instinct about Kate, for getting them in this mess, even though he didn't _quite_ understand what this mess actually was....

"I still don't get what I have to do with any of this,"

"He was so busy paying attention to _you_ that he didn't have any time to pay attention to _me_ , I mean, I managed to sneak up on a _werewolf_ on the full moon, all because he was too busy thinking about you,"

"But... why? Derek and I have never even met!"

"Mm... that's a pretty good question, you should ask him yourself, or better yet... have him show you," she challenged with a grin

One look at Derek's face was proof of how much he didn't want to do ... whatever the hell this was, but Kate was relentless, and by the time they reached the house, Derek was hanging his head in ... embarrassment? Shame? Something like that, certainly

He opened the door and lead them inside, turning on the hall light before walking into the living room and returning a few moments later with a small stack of photographs

Upon taking them, Stiles realized with growing confusion that they were photographs of _him_

They weren't all that good actually, from the perspective of a photographer, but it was clear that Derek had been completely and utterly enamored with his target during each and every snapshot

He... wasn't sure what to do with this....

"I don't get it... why?" he asked quietly, his attention turning back to the werewolf

But Derek didn't speak, instead he just hung his head further, refusing to meet Stiles' gaze

"It's because you're his mate," Kate said almost gleefully, a sick grin having spread across her lips as she pressed the gun a little bit harder against the back of Stiles' head

"He saw you a little over a month ago out ... doing something, somewhere, and he took your picture with his phone, but he was too shy to do or say anything to you, well... then I found out about it, and I decided to hire you to take pictures of him instead for a change,"

"So.. you hired me specifically to emotionally hurt him?"

"I told you, you're supposed to be the distraction, I kept hoping that having you around- and in such a delightfully intrusive way, for that matter- would distract him enough that I would get some real information on the whereabouts of the rest of his pack but... nothing came of it, I guess he was never really THAT attached to you in the first place hm?"

No wonder Derek looked ashamed, he had been doing something almost identical to what Stiles had been doing over the lasty few months, with out the excuse of being a professional photographer to hide behind either...

"Your ... mate?" Stiles asked softly

Derek flinched at, seemingly, just the word alone, but now wasn't the time for that

"So here's how it's going to work Derek, either you tell me where the rest of your pack is... or your little stalker here joins your family in the afterlife, it's your choice,"

Derek looked like the decision was actually painfull for him to watch, wich... no, it shouldn't be

Derek should be able to say without a shadow of a doubt that he chose his pack, but by not doing that...

Did he really care about Stiles? Was Stils really his mate?

Not that it mattered at this moment, right now the focus had to be getting out of here, out from under Kate's threat, and anything and everything else could wait until after that was done

"Stiles..." Derek winced, sounding truly pained just with the name

Stiles decided right then and there that he was done with being a victim, a hostage, whatever Kate was going to turn him into- or whatever she WANTED to turn him into atleast

He wasn't going to have it anymore, and if that got him shot, then.... oh well

He heard Derek start to say something, but without a second thought, hurried to grab Kate by the arm and flip her over his shoulder, earning a scream from her as she landed on her back, her arm still in the air as Stiles easily pried it from her hands

Derek looked... impressed, actually

Terrified, make no doubt about it, but also pretty impressed

It was a good look on him

Without thinking any further, Stiles took a step closer, holding his hand out for Derek and smiling gently at him

"Hi, I'm Stiles, sorry I've been stalking you for the last month,"

Derek's lips twitched into a grin, a look of warmth spreading over his face as he reached out shook Stiles' hand

"Hi, I'm Derek, and I'm sorry I've been stalking you for _two_ months,"

"It's alri- ... wait a second, TWO months?"

"How do you think Kate knew who you were?" Derek asked with a slight wince

"Fair enough..."

Derek nodded, sliding past Stiles for a moment and staring down at Kate, who seemed only barely concerned that she was sitting weaponless in front of a very angry werewolf

"Stiles?"

"Hm?"

"Look away,"

Stiles snorted, watching as the shapeshifter's claws appeared against his fingers in place of where his nails usually were

"Like _hell_ ,"

Considering that Stiles didn't even flinch when Derek brought his claws down on Kate's throat, he was willing to say that this may be the beginning of a pretty beautifull relationship

 

~+~

 

_***Click*** _

_***Click*** _

_***Click*** _

"Stiles... put the camera away..." Derek said with a soft groan, his eyes blinking open as he stared up at the the camera his mate was weilding

"Sorry... you know I can't help it,"

The werewolf only grunted quietly, wrapping Stiles in his arms and dragging him closer, his mouth pressing soft trails against his chest, his neck, finding the mating mark he had bitten into his lover's skin two months prior and sinking his teeth into it again, causing a shudder of pleasure from both of them

"Mm... keep teasing with that..." Stiles challenged almost breathlessly, grinning as he felt Derek's lips quirk up into a smirk

So, mates, they were a funny thing

The pull between them was apparently undeniably strong, and before actually mating with eachother, there was always a near... obsession with their other half

It was just that, wile most werewolves worked this out with their partners somehow, Stiles and Derek had both been too afraid to say anything and had resorted instead to taking pictures from a distance

_Fascinating_

Derek's teeth wandered upwards, slotting easily into the turning mark that he had given Stiles the same night he had given him the mating bite and letting his teeth press down into it again, a small groan pulling out of Stiles' throat at the action

Turning bites and mating bites, the only two wounds that never truly "healed" for werewolves, and Stiles had been lucky enough to receive them both at the same time

One on each side of his throat

Kate's intention may have been to use Stiles against Derek, but it had severely backfired, in particular due to her not having done any research to know that Stiles had taken some basic martial arts lessons as a kid

Sure, it wasn't enough to do any permanent damage, but it was good self-defense anyway, it had been good enough to prevent the worst from happening

"You can't waste an entire roll of film you know," Derek mused, hugging Stiles a little bit closer and biting down on his shoulder playfully

"Oh really? Watch me," Stiles challenged playfully, earning a roll of Derek's eyes from him

"You're ridiculous..."

"Thank you," Stiles smirked back

"What the hell am I going to do with you?"

"Mm... don't know," Stiles shrugged, gently carding his fingers through Derek's hair

"I guess you'll just have to bite me,"

No one ever said that Stiles was any good at puns


End file.
